


Quite Miss Home

by RiverdaleHales



Series: One Shot Collection [4]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Betty Cooper Needs a Hug, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Feels, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Jughead Jones Loves Betty Cooper, Marriage, POV Jughead Jones, Pregnancy, Sad and Happy, Writer Jughead Jones, inspired by a song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:48:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22502011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiverdaleHales/pseuds/RiverdaleHales
Summary: Inspired by James Arthur "Quite Miss Home"All Betty wants is a baby and all Jughead wants is to give his wife what she forever longs for. When life gets in the way and things seem to never be in their favor, how do soulmates handle tragedy...
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Series: One Shot Collection [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1507073
Comments: 8
Kudos: 115





	Quite Miss Home

Betty stood in the kitchen as she watched Jughead smoke outside. The under of her eyes were patchy layers or blue and purple. She had her hair pulled up into a bun with messy fly aways spewing in all directions. She held the gold locket that hung around her neck between her thumb and forefinger, fidgeting with it as she watched her husband take the edge off the day. 

Jughead inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the dark smoke. He was careful not to cause himself to cough, the tobacco mixing with the cold December air made for a nasty combination. Betty was always telling him that it was poison, but it was the only way that helped him wind down after a long day. He was so tired of fighting her. He wished that there was something he could do to ease the pain from her mind. He knew that she blamed herself and the fact that he was barely around didn’t help anymore. He replayed their memories in his head as he continued to fill his lungs with cigarette smoke. Their date the night they decided that they were going to start trying. Their wedding day four years ago. When she would make him dinner every night, no matter how tired she was when she came home from work. The nights that he would hold her on the couch as they watched television and the rain fell outside. Now all his memories just felt poignant. 

He watched inside as Betty moved to turn off the kitchen light, he knew it meant she was turning in for the night. He stomped out his cigarette with his boot as what was left of the smoke left his lips and into the bitter air. He took a moment, in the silence, to examine their home. He shoved his hands in his pockets and his eyes traced over the back deck. The second step was about ready to cave in on itself- something he’d promised her he’d fix for months now. He scoffed audibly at himself and looked at the night sky. He was sure the stars would laugh at him if they could. The moon was the only thing that offered him light amongst the pitched black night. He’d never been religious, but he wondered if talking to God in that moment could turn anything around for him. 

It was crippling to him that Betty was taking blame for their circumstances. She would never admit it, she was too stubborn, but she blamed Jughead too. Hell, he blamed himself. He was never home, he knew that. But his book tour had kept him on the road a lot longer than either of them had ever planned. It put food on the table and was an amazing opportunity- they both understood that. But it wasn’t as excuse. Betty was going through everything entirely alone. Although neither one of them could’ve predicted anything that was happening, it didn’t cause it to hurt any less. 

In honesty, Jughead blamed his father. The worthless sperm donor had left him when he was only ten. Leaving to care for his baby sister all alone. He’d grown into a man in foster homes and when he turned eighteen, he’d gone to work for a local construction company. It's where he met his best friend, Archie Andrews, and his next door neighbor- _Betty Cooper._

Writing was the only thing that got him through it. He’d married the love of his life and high school sweetheart, which took him a while to accept the fact that he did- in fact- deserve her in his life. She'd been his rock, and now he was letting her down. He’d gotten a publishing deal entirely thanks to her and now he was able to put Jellybean through college. 

But then, the worst night of his life struck him like an eighteen-wheeler. A night that he’d never forget... the night that changed everything. 

_“God_ _damnit Jughead, take your shoes off, I just swept the floors!” Betty hissed at him as he walked through the front door._ _He set his duffle bag on to the floor as Betty angrily peeled a potato over the_ _kitchen_ _sink. He’d been gone for three weeks._ What a way to be greeted back home. _He thought._ _They’d barely spoken to each other the entire last week and he instantly knew at the sight of her that something wasn’t right._

_Jughead made his way into the kitchen, taking in her appearance. Her clothes were baggy and wrinkled. Her hair looked strung out, he couldn’t see her face with her back turned towards him. But i_ _f he had, he’d notice that her cheeks were red and slightly raw- her eyes sunken in with shadows of splotching bruises beneath them._

_“Hi, babe...” He kissed her cheek and didn’t seem to notice her flinch when he touched her. He moved for the pile of mail on the counter and began looking through the stack of envelopes. He decided that he be_ _t_ _ter_ _keep his distance._

_She’d talk when she was ready._

_If he’d learned anything in their four years of marriage it was that._

_As she turned to stir a pot on the stove a few minutes later he decided to take his chances. He hadn’t seen his wife in three weeks and God damnit he missed her._

_He met behind her at the stove, his arms looped around her sides and he noticed her immediately freeze at his touch. He turned his head to kiss her neck. Perhaps she’d just had a long week at work._ _She was stressed and tired and the stress of him coming home and everything not being perfect seemed to always cause her to bug out._

_“How’s our little peanut...” He muttered, his hands slinking around to land on her still flat stomach. He noticed her sink forward, her head bobbing downward. He stepped back instantly, recogn_ _izing her body language immediately._

_She was trying not to start crying._

_“Betts?” His voice changing, pitching upward with worry. She stepped away from him, her exhale catching in her throat as she failed to conceal her tears. His hand reached for her arm to stop her, but_ _she rejected him._

_Betty walked quickly away from him. She dodged him for the bathroom, Jughead quickly following her and curs_ _ed_ _as she shut the door to their bathroom and_ _heard the lock fall into place._

_“Betty, what the hell is going on?” He could he_ _a_ _r_ _heavy_ _sobs through the_ _door._ _She had to have been right on the other side. Her cries crushing him instan_ _tly. He went back to the kitchen, turning_ _the burner off on the stove and making sure she hadn’t left the water on. He made his way back to the bathroom and knocked softly on the door._

 _“Betts_ _...” He started softly. “Please baby, please talk to me...” He had his forehead pressed against the_ _door;_ _his hand splayed across the wood with his other on the still knob. He winced as her heard her_ _sobs so intense that he could imagine her chest shaking and her throat burning._

_Jughead sunk to the floor after a while, his head resting against the door frame as_ _he waited for her cries to calm. He tried to imagine every possible scenario in his head, as painful as that was. He literally thought of everything._

_Had she cheated on him? No way. Was the baby not his? Not a chance. Did she want a_ _divorce?_ _There was no way, Betty would do that to him. They were so happy before he left_ _for the_ _tour._

_Jughead wasn’t sure how long he sat there on the floor. Waiting for her to_ _open up_ _to him. What_ _e_ _ver_ _had happened was tearing her apart, that much he knew. Eventually, he heard the lock_ _click open and he jumped to his feet at rapid speed._ _She opened the door and he noticed her face for the first time. He swore his mouth fell agape at his gaze. An audible gasp left his lips as he_ _saw_ _her sunken features_ _looking back at him._

_“Betts...” He whispered so quietly in shock that he almost didn’t hear himself. Her tears had subsided, but her eyes seemed to refill with quiet rage_ _,_ _and she walked past his shocked state and into their bedroom._ _She grabbed his duffle bag from the living room and carried it into their bedroom, opening it as Jughead just stood gawking at her._

 _“Betty...” He spoke._ _She removed her shirt and cotton shorts, grab_ _bing one of Jughead’s t-shirts from his duffle and slipping it over her head._ _“Betty,” He said her name once more. “What the hell is going_ _on?_ _Did something happen with the baby?”_

_“There is no baby...” She spoke with_ _absolutely_ _no emotion as she pulled the decorative pillows off their bed._

_“What?” Jughead spoke through a gasp, incredulously. Betty pulled the duvet back on their bed._

_“I lost the baby...” She whispered, her voice cracking slightly._

_“No...” Jughead spoke to himself, not believing her. “What do you mean?” She said nothing else, knowing full and well that he had heard her. She crawled into their bed, his scent from the t-shirt she wore_ _invaded her senses so deeply and she started to silently cry again. Jughead was devasted, perhaps in the moment he hadn’t quite processed it, but he understood how hard it must be for her. His wife. The love of his life. All Betty had wanted was a baby and she’d lost it. They’d lost it._

_Jughead stripped himself of his clothes and crawled into their bed with her. He pulled her close and it took her a_ _moment,_ _but loud sobs quickly bubbled from her chest and she let herself go with him. He_ _comforted her and hel_ _d_ _her so close._ _Tears sprung at his eyes as he watched his wife crumble in his arms._

_“It’s okay baby...” He said after a while. “We’ll just try again.” He said it before he knew any better._

_“No...” She sobbed. “No, we can’t...”_

_“Okay, then we’ll wait...” He spoke softly. “We’ll wait until you’re ready to try again.”_

_“No, Jug you don’t understand-” She said through a cry. “The doctor- the doctor said I can’t have children...”_

_“What?” Jughead said through slight confusion and a lot of shock._

_“He said that there’s something wrong with my uterus- something wrong with the shape. I- I can’t get pregnant without- without help...” She cri_ _ed into his throat._

_“When did you find out?” He asked her._

_“_ _Wh_ _-What?” She said around a gasp._

_“When did you find out that you lost the baby?” Jughead winced._

_“At my appointment on Tuesday...” Betty told him regretfully._

_“You told me everything looked fine!” He spoke a little louder._

_“I- I was in shock...” Betty defended. “And I didn’t want to tell you over the phone and I-”_

_“Jesus Christ, Betts...” He held her closer and she cried a little harder. Her next words crushed him._

_“I’m sorry... It’s all my fault.” She admitted._

_“What?” Jughead spoke. “In_ _absolutely_ _no way is this your fault...”_

_“But I- my uterus-” She gasped._

_Jughead suddenly understood her reaction. She was blaming herself for losing the baby. She afraid to disappoint him- hurt him._

_“So, we’ll get help...”_

_“It costs a lot of money Jug.” Betty attempted to tell him._

_“So, we’ll get a second opinion!” Jughead told her. “Now we’re through talking about this for now.” He ended any talk about trying again. “I can’_ _t believe you didn’t tell me...” He said, unable to stop himself from imagining her dealing with this alone all week. Although it finally made the last week a lo_ _t_ _clearer_ _._

_“I’m sorry.” She shuddered._

_“Hey! No. You aren’t not apologizing...” He held her closer. Jughead found her mouth and kissed her deeply. He lips chapped as her sobs transfer through them and against his._

They held each other that entire night, Betty eventually falling into an exhaustion induced slumber. They spoke many more nights about the possibility of beginning IVF treatments after second and third opinions didn’t offer any new answers. Many more fights took place than compromises. Jughead never fully grieved the loss of his child as he attempted to console his wife. It put a magnitude of strain on their marriage. 

Jughead left his shoes at the door. Betty’s words echoing in his brain about how much the dirt drove her crazy. He looked at the clock on the stove noting the time before he noticed the light hue still coming from underneath their closed bedroom door. He tried to remember the last night they’d shared in their bed together. Guilt still crippled his body. He’d eventually begun to take blame on himself. He was unable to give Betty a child. He was unable to give his wife the only thing she wanted. His book tour gave him an escape from the tense home life that he came back to time and time again. Betty had become obsessed with her fertility. They were unable to afford the twenty-thousand-dollar IVF treatments that insurance wouldn’t cover-that weren’t even guaranteed to work- because he was putting JB through college and still managing to put a roof over their heads. She’d lost her job after the miscarriage, the pain and guilt crippling her into a depression that she couldn’t shake. He’d provide for them, but his earnings from his first publication would eventually run out. He maintained his book tour in order to elongate their savings but that meant spending more time away from Betty. He could feel her pulling further and further away from him. 

Betty had begun the obsession of tracking her ovulation, hoping that the minuscule chance they had at getting pregnant on their own would take. They’d begun only having sex each time he’d come back from book tour in order to make a baby. It had seemed like forever since he’d made actual love to his wife and he missed her. It only made it worse, when tests constantly came back negative and he was out on tour and not home to console her each time her hopes got shattered once again. 

He stripped down to his boxers and pulled the blanket off the sofa, ready to turn in for his night on the couch. He watched and waited for Betty to turn off the lamp in their bedroom. He imagined her soft skin against the cold sheets, alone. He tried to imagine how her heart felt knowing the he was home, yet he spent his nights on their couch because she couldn’t bear to be touched by him. It paralyzed him to imagine how alone she must feel, knowing there was nothing he could do to ease her pain and knowing he was set to leave on another tour in the morning. 

He had to leave her to go on his Australian tour, he’d be gone for three months. She’d be alone for three months and yet he spent the night on the couch. But what hurt him the most was that he wouldn’t even be around to watch the snow melt away. 

_“Come on!” Betty giggled as she pulled him in to the bar on_ _Hyde Street. It had a bright blinking sign and they loved it. It was just before closing time and they were sure that the bartender would give them dirty looks. Who came in for a night cap on a Tuesday_ _night? She ordered them both a shot of tequila and they sat on bar stools._

_“Happy_ _Anniversary_ _...” She smiled at him holding her shot glass in the air between them._

_“Happy Anniversary?” He muttered, unsure of his statement. They clinked their glasses together and Betty giggled after she took her_ _shot._

_“T_ _oday_ _..._ _i_ _s the da_ _y_ _that we had our first date.” She smiled at him, her hands pressing in his knees. She leaned in so her face was closer to his._

_“What? No, I’m pretty sure that would on the twenty-first...” He told her._

_“It is the twenty-first Jug...” Betty told him with a laugh._

_“Oh...” He laughed to as Betty leaned in a kissed him._ _“Man, did you ever think that you’d marry a man you met at sixteen?”_

_“Yes.” She nodded confidently._

_“Really?”_

_“Yes, my sexy husband...” She leaned in once more, her lips brushing against his. “I always knew I was going to marry you.”_

_“And you know I’ll give you anything my beautiful wife.” He kissed her before he ordered them two more shots._

_“Oh really, huh?” She challenged him. “Please explain to me, why_ _your_ _car is th_ _e_ _one that gets_ _to go in the garage then._ _”_

_“Okay...” He laughed. “Almost everything.”_

_They each downed another shot. Jughead watched Betty. She was so beautiful_ _,_ _and they might be married, but that didn’t stop him f_ _ro_ _m wondering how in the hell he had ended up with such a_ _beautiful woman_ _. He still didn’t know_ _what she ever saw in him that made her decide to marry him. He loved her so much._ _Betty folded her hands in her lap nervously as she turned to him on her bar stool._

_“There is one thing I want that I’ve been thinking about lately...”_

_“What’s that_ _?_ _” Jughead looked at her. Betty jumped off her stool then. Jughead separated his knees so that she could stand between them. His hands met her wa_ _ist as the both of hers met his face._

_“I want to have a baby...” She said quietly. She closed her eyes through a heavy exhale as if she had just confessed something to him. Jughead’s_ _hand’s gripped at her waist and she leaned in and placed her forehead against his. They’d talked about kids_ _before;_ _the idea of children wasn’t a new one._ _But the idea of having a baby where they currently were in life was scary. He didn’t know if they were ready. H_ _e was about to start touring for his book. A deal that Betty herse_ _lf had gotten for him. He was given the opportunity_ _of a lifetime_ _because of her_ _and in the moment, he recognized just how much he owed the amazing women he got to call his wife. “I know that life is crazy right now and I know it’s been a while si_ _nce we’ve talked about it-” She began to ramble after a moment._

_“Okay.” Jughead spoke simply. His breath brushing against her lips as he spoke._

_“What?” She pulled back. His face still in her hands as she searched his eyes. He laughed as the slight shock that seemed to cover her face. Apparently_ _,_ _she_ _hadn’t expected him to cave so easily at her_ _proposal_ _._

_“Let’s do it...” He let out a nervous laugh. “Let’s have a baby!”_

_Betty squealed as she jumped into his arms. Jughead let out a heavy scoff and hugged her close. Betty pulled away after a moment to kiss him before hugging him again. It was as if she couldn’t_ _beli_ _e_ _ve_ _that the moment was real._

_“Ooh, I love you.” She kissed him. “I love you; I love you; I love you...” She kissed all over his face. Jughead laughed at her silliness. His hands moving her waist to catch her face and planting a hot and heavy kiss on her lips._

_“I love you too...” He kissed her again. “Why don’t you say we go home and practice making a baby?” He muttered_ _cheekily and Betty giggled._

_They left the bar that night, hand in hand. When they got home_ _,_ _they didn’t exactly what they set out to do. Little did they know that their lives would come crashing down in just a few months all b_ _ecause of a promise that Jughead couldn’t keep._

They’ d had a couple of months of bad news. Test after test came back negative and it crushed her every time. At first, not as much. She knew they could keep trying, she’d been on birth control for so long and she tried to convince herself that that was the cause to their circumstances. After a while, the negative results took a toll. She wanted a baby so bad, that it was crippling to not imagine a tiny her or Jughead running around. Eventually, she began taking tests without Jughead around. Hoping and praying that one day, the lines on the stick wouldn’t let her down. 

_“Betts...” Jughead spoke softly as he watched Betty walk out of their bathroom._

_“Jug.” Betty spoke, jumping slightly his voice as she turned off the bathroom light._ _“I didn’t know you were home.” She said as she adjusted her shirt. He saw the test sitting on their vanity and instantly shook his head, holding the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger._

_“You took another test?” He asked her, attempting to hide the frustration in his voice. She nodded at him_ _solemnly_ _. He had begun to understand how difficult this whole thing was for her, but he didn’t want_ _her to feel like she needed to hide it from him either._ _“Betty,” He started. “I thought we talked about this... It’ll happen when it’s meant to happen. We both decided on that. We both decided that we were going to do this together. I mean I know I just started_ _my book tour and I’m not home as much anymore, but we-” As he rambled Betty made her way back into the bathroom and grabbed the test off the sink. Her_ _stomach_ _drop_ _ped_ _in an instant. She came into the light o_ _f their bedroom just to make sure that she_ _actually saw_ _it. The faintest little plus sign looked her straight in the eye and she gasped her hand coming over her mouth._

_“-Jug,” She interrupted his aimless rambling._ _“Jughead...” She said a little louder in order to get him to stop speaking. He stopped when her voice grew louder, his uneasy eyes watching her. “It’s positive.” She turned the_ _test towards him and walked a little closer._

_“What?” He spoke, not believing her._

_“It’s positive...” She spoke again, meeting his eyes. His eyes turned_ _to those of disbelief and admiration. She let out a happy sigh and jumped to him, her arms wrapping around his neck. She hugged him clos_ _e and Jughead kissed her hair, holding her to him._

_“I did it.” He spoke softly and against her. “We did it, we’re having a baby!” He said proudly. Betty couldn’t stop the happy tears that swelled from her eyes as she kissed him._

_“Congrats, daddy...” She said through a happy laugh._

Now, as he sat in his hotel room in Melbourne. He attempted to type on his keyboard, but it was no use. He missed home. He missed Betty. Guilt continued to ripple through him like a raging tide. He couldn’t write, he couldn’t eat or sleep. He couldn’t imagine how Betty must feel. They hadn’t spoken since the few meaningless words they shared the day before he left for his Australian tour. He was scared- terrified even. He was afraid that Betty would leave him. That he would come home one day, and she’d be gone or there’d be divorce papers waiting for him on their kitchen counter. He missed the way things used to be between them. The way things where when they were so in love that it was sickening. He missed the nights that they’d shut out the outside world and they would cocoon themselves in their own little bubble. He’d been gone for two weeks without any communication with his heartbroken wife at home. He never understood how couples just decided that they didn’t want to be together anymore- that they didn’t want to try anymore... that they didn’t love each other anymore. He’d never understood divorce, but his recent reflection caused him to decide that perhaps this is how it started. He wasn’t sure at what point they began to push each other away although he supposed it was when they lost the baby. 

When _they_ lost the baby. It wasn’t just Betty that lost the baby and yet they never grieved together. They had done that separately. In the moment, it had seemed to be what was best. Betty didn’t want to be touched- let alone to talk about the baby. It was no secret that the root of all their recent trouble was them drifting apart and not bringing them together during a time that they needed to. 

Jughead slammed his laptop closed in his lap. He ran a frustrated hand over his face and glanced at the time on his phone. It was almost four in the morning in Riverdale. There was no chance that Betty was awake and no promise that she would answer his call regardless. He wasn’t due home for over two months and yet he felt more alone than ever. He wondered what Betty’s thoughts must be. He tried to think of the movies and how cliché it would be for her to fear that he would cheat with his publicist. Sure, Cheryl followed him everywhere and was with him every day while he was on tour, but Betty couldn’t possibly think that low of him- _could she?_

He couldn’t take it. Betty needed to know that he was still as madly in love with her as he had been before they lost that baby and everything that came with it afterward. He missed his wife God damnit. He missed her smile, her laugh, her cooking and flirtatious attitude. He missed _his_ Betty. The book tour didn’t matter if she left him. He hadn’t even unpacked his suitcase. He glanced at it as he processed what he should do next. He knew that if he left the book tour, he’d probably never get another opportunity like that again. It had always been his dream to be a writer. Betty had pulled the strings on getting a publisher to see his work. She’d literally lifted his career off the ground, and he would be forever indebted to her for that. But he couldn’t take it. He needed to see her, and he needed to be _home again._

Jughead knocked rapidly on Cheryl’s door. She answered it after a while looking not so pleased with him. 

“Jesus, Jughead...” She hissed at him. “What do you want? We have to be up at 6AM...” 

“I’m going back to Riverdale.” he told her simply. 

“What?” Cheryl gawked at him. “What are you talking about? You can’t do that.” 

“I’m headed to the airport now,” Jughead stated. “I miss my wife- she needs me right now- and I need her...” He finally said aloud. “It isn’t up for discussion...” 

“Jughead, if you do this-” 

“I know Cheryl,” He told her. “But, none of this matters if I lose my wife in the process...Here.” He handed her a piece of paper with her ticket verification number written on it. “Your flight is tomorrow morning... I’m sorry Cheryl but I have to do this.” He stepped to walk away from the frame of her door. 

“Jughead...” Cheryl’s voice stopped him. “I don’t know what going on, but if you’re willing to give this all up- it must be pretty serious. Tell Betty I say hello, I hope everything works out because if I know anything- the two of you are so in love it’s sickening...” She made him smile. “Bye, Jug.” 

After a twenty-two-hour flight, Jughead was exhausted. But all he wanted to do was see Betty. It was around six in the morning when he landed in Riverdale. He grabbed a bouquet of cheap flowers from the airport, his heavy eyes not stopping him from getting home to his girl. He was sure to carefully and quietly unlock the door when he got home. He slipped his shoes off on the rug and dropped his bag. The house was warm- too warm for him and it made him smile but he knew it was exactly how Betty liked it. When he met their bedroom door, he took in her sleeping figure in the bed. Her hair was cascading around her, her once bright honey blonde now dull and flat. He knew that the inside of her eyes still maintained shades of blue and gray even as her eye lashes laid delicately against her cheeks- pink and rosy due to the heat that must engulf her as she laid under their duvet in the warm room. 

She was still so beautiful to him. Just as beautiful as when they met at sixteen and she’d been the one to ask him out after a football game. The town hermit and cheerleader, they made quite a duo. But they just _wo_ _rked._ He didn’t know exactly how to explain it. 

Jughead set the flowers on the nightstand and knelt beside their bed. He ran a gentle hand through her hair. She adjusted and audibly sigh, the early morning sun causing her eyes to squint as she woke. 

“Jug?” She startled, lifting her head when she realized that he was there with her. “What- what are you doing here?” 

“I miss you...” He told her simply, his hand still holding her head. 

“What about Australia?” She spoke groggily. He shook his head at her. 

“I left...” 

“Why?” 

“Because I needed to see you.” He stood then and sat beside her on the bed as she slowly sat up. “I- I’ve been thinking a lot and Betts... I know that you blame yourself for losing the baby.” He told her. He watched as Betty sunk into herself and her face shifted at his mention of the miscarriage. “But, baby it’s not your fault! I know I’ve said that a million times but it’s not...” He paused. “I- I started to blame myself...” 

“Jug-” She gasped at his revelation. 

“I’m not able to ease any of the pain that your feeling, you don’t want me to touch you...” He rested a hand on her arm. “When we lost that baby- we fell apart... I tried to hold it together for you, but we both know that you crumbled- you literally crumbled in my arms the night that you told me, and we’ve never talked about it...” He watched the tears form at the corners of her eyes. He threads his finger through hers. “I’ve let you grieve Betts... I’ve let you grieve alone because I thought that was what you wanted- what you needed. I- I don’t know if I actually ever grieved the loss of the baby... because I was so scared of losing you.” He confessed. 

“Juggie...” Her voice hoarse and strangled as it left her lips. 

“And I know how hard this has all been for you. Hell, I even started blaming my dad- a man that I haven’t seen in almost twenty years. Because of him I am the one putting JB through college so we can’t afford to try IVF and I-” 

“Jug, I don’t hold any of that against you...” She spoke meekly. “You are a good man Jughead Jones...” Her tears began to fall as she reached a hand up to touch his face. 

“I’m scared you’re going to leave me...” He admitted. His voice was quiet, and he wasn’t sure that he even spoke his fears aloud. 

“Jug,” Betty gasped. She lifted his head in her hand so their eyes could meet. “No.” She shook her head. 

“I fucking miss you Betts...” 

“I miss me too...” She spoke softly, her voice hitching. Jughead couldn’t stand it, her grabbed her and wrapped her into a tight hug. Her tears beginning to liter his shirt. They were caught up in such a heavy conversation and the air around them was dense and strangling. 

“I- I want to try IVF with you if you- if you still do..." He told her, hugging her close. 

“But Jug, we can’t afford-” 

“We’ll take out a second mortgage on the house.” He pulled back to search her face. “We will figure something out.” He spoke once more. “I know this is scary Betts and I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, but I’m here now.” 

“I’m sorry that I fell apart... I’m sorry that I pushed you away...” Betty cried. 

“I’m sorry that I let you.” Jughead leaned in and kissed her lips gently. He held her head in his hands before her set himself back on their headboard and placed her head against his chest. “We’ll get back to us Betts...” He promised. “I love you.” 

“I love you too, Jug.” 

They laid there together for a while, simpering in each other's breaths as the morning sun rose upon them. Jughead just held his wife close in his arms, missing the feeling of her skin and the smell of her hair. He pressed a kiss to her forehead as her arms squeezed around his waist. 

“Juggie...” 

“Yeah, hon?” 

“Your publisher called yesterday...” She spoke. Jughead pulled back to look at her fully. “I wasn’t sure how to tell you, or if I even wanted to.” She admitted. 

“Betts-” 

“They want another book Juggie...” She told him. 

“I know.” He spoke. His publisher had already spoken with him, but he knew he couldn't give them an answer without talking with her first. 

“And I want you to do it...” 

“Betty, if this is about being able to afford the treatments- we'll figure out another way. I don’t want to be away-” 

“Writing is your dream Juggie... I didn’t marry you because I want to have babies with you, I married you because I love you and I want you to be able to follow your dreams...” 

“You’re sure?” 

“Yes, I’m sure...” She pushed up from his chest and held his face in her hands. “I’m sorry that my grieving made you feel like you needed to stop that.” 

“Betty stop, that’s not-” 

“It’s okay Jug...” She whispered and pressed her forehead against his and kissed his lips softly. “And I think I need to go back to work...” 

“I think that’s a good idea.” He told her. “I missed you...” He muttered softly against her mouth. 

“I missed you, too...” She hugged him close, burying her face in his neck while her legs straddled his lap. 

They sat there for a moment in the silence of their bedroom. Jughead pulled her back after a while and searched her eyes. His thumbs stroked softly on both of her cheeks as he held her face in his hands. 

“Can we try...” She spoke meekly, almost afraid of what she was going to ask him. “Can we try one more time?” 

“Yeah baby, let’s try one more time...” He told her. His heart strings were being pulled in every direction, but if he knew one thing it was that he loved his wife unconditionally. 

“I love you, Jughead Jones...” Betty whispered before tears threatened her eyes. 

“And I love you, Betty Jones.” 

They didn’t know it yet, but the two of them made a beautiful baby girl that night. Falling back into life with the love of your life, might have had a little something to do with it. 


End file.
